Doing Right by Risotto

No fancy gear or special training required: Producing stellar risotto is simply a matter of listening to your rice

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Clockwise from top left: Risotto with Winter Greens and Taleggio, Risotto with Fennel and Vodka, Risotto al Barbera and Risotto alla Birra
James Ransom for The Wall Street Journal, Food Styling by Jamie Kimm, Prop Styling by DSM

By

Aleksandra Crapanzano

Updated Jan. 31, 2014 6:41 p.m. ET

CERTAIN FOODS BEG to be cooked to music. Risotto is one. Get a rhythm going, and all that stirring takes on a new dimension. A little dancing, some backup vocals and suddenly 20 minutes have vanished, and you've built up an appetite for the fabulously guilty, carb-loaded, butter-fattened, Parmesan-laced pleasure ahead of you.

There are those who presume that some magic—or at least years of tutelage at a nonna's side—is required to pull off a just-so risotto: a little creamy or soupy, depending on the recipe, but still retaining the integrity of the individual grains. In fact, it's simply a matter of choosing the best rice, imbuing it with the right boozy note and making sure those precious kernels are never kept waiting for their next drink nor left drowning in too much of a good thing (though a good soundtrack certainly helps.)

Before cooking comes shopping. Don't automatically reach for the Arborio rice at your local supermarket. It is dependable, but Carnaroli rice produces the very creamiest of risottos, and Vialone Nano rice is the right choice for a soupy base and plump kernel.

Carnaroli, from the Piedmont region of northern Italy, has a high starch content, allowing it to absorb copious quantities of liquid while maintaining its bite. For this reason, it takes a few minutes longer to cook than Arborio. Vialone Nano hails from the Veneto region of northern Italy, where cooks often add shellfish broth to seafood risottos right before serving them. Arborio, named for a town in the Po Valley, where it is grown, is now also cultivated in other countries, including the U.S. That said, I have found that Italian-grown Arborio rice retains its texture better than those domestically harvested.

‘The rice should never cede center stage; don't mask it with excessive seasoning or ingredients.’

Always lightly "toast" the rice with butter, oil and onion for a minute or two before adding the first ladle of liquid. The flavors will infuse the kernel and the heat will draw out the rice's character. I then often add a splash of white wine or Prosecco before moving on to the stock. If I'm making a wild mushroom risotto, I might turn to Vin Santo or Madeira; when using fennel, I take a cue from Ruth Rogers of London's River Café and use vodka.

Next, you can go one of two ways. Stick with tradition and stir, stir, stir, and the risotto should be done in 20 to 25 minutes. Or, do as the Romans do, and use a pressure cooker. This is the secret of Italian cooks seeking to keep their heritage alive and their families happy in the contemporary time crunch. It yields, effortlessly, near-perfect results that could fool many a nonna into thinking you'd been diligently standing over the pot. If set on high, the pressure cooker should produced finished risotto in six to nine minutes, depending on the machine and the amount of rice.

If you choose to stir, remember: Unlike Uncle Ben's, risotto wants to be stirred more or less continuously as it cooks. It does not take well to drowning, preferring instead to drink half a cup of simmering broth at a time. It likes a lively heat. If you can't hear it cook, the temperature is too low, but if the liquid sizzles loudly on contact, the heat is too high.

Once the rice is cooked through, but still offers a little resistance, immediately remove your saucepan from the heat. I like to add a knob of butter and a ladle of broth and cover the pan while I call everyone to the table. This keeps the rice moist and hot, which is essential. If you want to heat your plates or bowls, now is the time. If that's too much trouble, add a few spoonfuls of broth to each dish before plating: It will warm the dish and keep the rice ever so very slightly soupy.

There are so many variations to try, including the four wildly different risottos at right. But no matter the recipe, the rice should never cede center stage—don't mask it with excessive seasoning or ingredients. I'm also a bit of stickler and won't make risotto unless I have homemade stock on hand. Make a large batch and freeze half: With rice in your pantry and a wedge of Parmesan in your fridge, dinner will never be more than a half-hour away.

Risotto with Winter Greens and Taleggio

Chef Danny Amend of Marco's in Brooklyn, N.Y., uses copious greens for a jolt of antioxidant goodness, and taleggio cheese for bliss-inducing luxury.

Active Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 90 minutes Serves: 4

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Risotto with Winter Greens and Taleggio
James Ransom for The Wall Street Journal, Food Styling by Jamie Kimm, Prop Styling by DSM

1. Make stock: Place all ingredients in a stock pot and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to very low and gently cook 45 minutes. Use a fine-mesh sieve to strain. Set aside and keep warm. (You should have about 9 cups.)

2. Heat half of oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and cook until soft, 2-3 minutes. Add all greens except spinach, and cook 5 minutes. Add spinach and cook until just tender, 5 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper and reserve.

5. Add hot stock, ½ cup at a time, and cook, stirring, until most of liquid is absorbed. Repeat process until there are about 2 cups of stock left. At this point, add greens and 1 cup stock and cook, stirring, until almost dry. Add remaining stock, stirring to combine, and cook 15 seconds more. Remove from heat.

6. Stir in remaining butter and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Fold in taleggio and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Risotto with Fennel and Vodka

This elegant risotto, adapted from "The Café Cookbook" by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers, is bracing and just a bit boozy.

Total Time: 30 minutes Serves: 4

ENLARGE

Risotto with Fennel and Vodka
James Ransom for The Wall Street Journal, Food Styling by Jamie Kimm, Prop Styling by DSM

6. Start adding broth, one ladle at a time. Stir continuously, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed by rice before adding the next. Continue until rice is al dente, about 20 minutes. Stir in remaining butter, fennel-vodka mixture and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Risotto alla Birra

Adapted from "Seductions of Rice" by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, this risotto reveals the mellow complexity of dark beer.

1. In a medium stockpot over high heat, bring broth to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Meanwhile, in a 180-degree oven, warm shallow soup plates.

2. In a wide, heavy pot over a medium flame, heat the oil. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened and translucent, 3 minutes. Add rice, stir to coat and cook 1 minute. Add cream and cook, stirring, until it comes to a simmer, 3 minutes. Add beer and continue to stir as rice absorbs the liquid, 5 minutes.

3. Once liquid is almost absorbed, add broth, one ladle at a time, stirring until it is absorbed. Repeat with remaining broth until rice is tender with a slight firmness at the center, about 20 minutes.

4. Stir in ⅓ cup Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pass remaining Parmesan at the table. Garnish with additional shavings of Parmesan, if you like.

Risotto al Barbera

Stirring red wine into risotto makes for a dish as rich in hue as it is in taste. Barbera, a lively wine that pairs well with food, works particularly well.

1. Heat butter and oil in a large, lidded braising pan over low heat. Add onions and stir to coat with fat. Cover pan and sweat onions until transparent but not browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in rosemary. Meanwhile, in a separate pot over high heat, bring stock to a simmer. Reduce heat to low.

3. Add stock to rice ¾ cup at a time. Stir until rice has absorbed liquid. Repeat process until rice is close to al dente, about 20 minutes. Reduce additions of stock to ½ cup at a time, testing frequently for doneness, until cooked. The total time will be between 25 and 28 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and stir in butter and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Corrections & Amplifications Though the Barbera wine grape grows in many parts of Italy, it is associated primarily with the Piedmont region. A recipe for Risotto al Barbera that ran in earlier versions of this article, suggested that Barbera wine is local to the Emilia-Romagna region.

I've been making risotto for years, and agree with everything in the article, but was intrigued by the pressure cooker method. Could you please provide more detail? First toast the rice, then add all the liquid? how do you adjust timing--based on volume? Thanks for any help you can provide.

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